Daemons to Haunt Severus
by Lia Majere
Summary: Severus returns from near death after years of absence to be annoyed by a student who seems strangely familiar. Snape/OC. Read and review please!
1. Awareness

Suddenly he was aware again. Aware of the fact that he was aware of anything at all first, and then aware of the burning pain on his neck. Pain so terrible that he felt like he must die...and then he realized that he had died. _But I thought you weren't supposed to feel pain after death._He thought. _Unless...but I couldn't be...I was on the good side..._ All the while the pain continued to escalate until it was so excruciating he couldn't help but scream.

But as soon as he opened his mouth and began to scream a tiny hand covered his mouth tightly, cutting off the scream and preventing him from drawing air in through is mouth, forcing him to breathe through his nose, which he found seemed to make the pain lessen.

"Severus, quit panicking and open your eyes already." A small, feminine, but also powerful voice commanded from somewhere above him. It was only when he heard this voice that he became aware of yet another feeling: the feeling of a small body sitting on top of him. He did as he was told and opened his eyes. Upon his stomach he found the owner of the voice. She was tiny, and seemed to be somewhere between the ages of six and eight. In the dim light it was hard to make out the color of her hair or eyes, but her skin seemed so pale it almost glowed, much like his own. Then he noticed the set of wings protruding out of this child's back. The wings looked more suitable to a bat or a dragon, and it seemed that the girl could have wrapped herself in them comfortably. Seeing these wings, Severus concluded that she must be a daemon. _And if she is a daemon then that means that I really am in Hell. But I thought I wasn't evil, I thought I made amends for all the bad things I'd done._

"You are not dead, so calm down. You did lose a lot of blood though. You are lucky I arrived when I did." The little daemon said, as if she could read his mind, which, he reminded himself, she very possibly could. "You are right where you almost died, as no one cared to see that you were properly taken care of. They all think you have been dead for the past few years, but never came looking for you. Quite a pity, really."

"No one came looking for me? I'm really not surprised. But you said for the past few years. How long have I been here?"

"Too long. It is September of 2001. When I came here the first time I just stopped your bleeding and you were supposed to recover and get up and walk back to that school you taught at. But you never did. I was not able to come back until now, and if I had decided to stay away you would certainly have died soon. The spell was about to wear off. Before your wound begins gushing again you need to get up and make your way back down that tunnel. Now."

With that the little daemon disappeared. Severus picked himself up carefully, aware of how stiff his body was. It was as if rigor mortis had kicked in and had yet to wear off. He stumbled down the familiar passageway out of the shrieking shack. He knew that with the passing of nearly three and a half years, he had a lot to catch up on. For now, he would settle with making everyone aware of his condition, which he could tell was suddenly worsening once again. He was once again aware of the pain from where that damned snake tore at his throat, and the pain was steadily intensifying and nearly unbearable. Crawling as best as he could, Severus pulled himself through the hole in the Whomping Willow and into the clear night. He was lucky enough to be spotted by someone shortly after dragging his body away from the tree and was taken to the hospital wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

_A/N: Please read and review. This is my first fic and as such I am certain there must be areas in which I can improve. I need your help in identifying what they are. If you find nothing to critique, just say so. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear that too. Without your input, I don't know how to carry on._


	2. Slowly

Random Fact: This chapter actually started out very differently, with Sev dragging himself out of the Whomping Willow and collapsing on the stairs, where he was found by a student up after curfew. Sev said all of that was not important and this resulted in a major argument. He won.

Slowly, Severus seemed to find himself in a dark fog. He felt numb. _Am I finally dead?_ came to the surface of his mind. _If so, this is a pretty crappy death!_ Then, slowly, voices made it through his fog. They were distant and muffled, but he was able to make them out.

"Is it really him, Poppy?"

"I believe so, Minerva. I believe this is, in fact, Severus Snape."

In this fog these names meant nothing to him, but whoever they belonged to was talking about him. If only he could find his way out of this fog! But no matter what he did, nothing seemed to change. He yelled out in frustration, and slowly the darkness and fog seemed to lift. Light poured in and then he saw a reddish-pink. That was when he realized that his eyes were closed. His eyes fluttered open, and hovering over him in concern was Poppy Pomfrey and Minerva McGonagall. He recognized them at once, though he did not when he was unconscious. It only took him about half a second after looking at their faces to realize that his scream had made it through the fog.

"Hello Minerva, Poppy." He said, his voice rasping. "I never thought I would see you again. After what I have done, I am surprised you preserved my life." There was no remorse in his voice, only the soreness. The burning pain was gone entirely. Poppy was a good healer. If he was lucky, she may have even been kind enough not to leave a scar to remind him.

"Harry told us what happened. He has declared you a hero. However, he would not tell us where your body was, so we could not find it to give you a proper burial. Thinking on it now perhaps that is a good thing. I do not pretend to understand how you survived or why you came back now. Perhaps you would be kind enough to enlighten us." As an afterthought, Minerva added, "It has been over three years."

He was not willing to reveal all that occurred when he "woke up dead" so instead he simply said, "I do not know the reason either. All I know at the moment is that I am alive."

"Well since you are alive, I would like to ask you a favor. You see, I am in a bit of a bind. My Potions Master is not as alive as you...and term is about to start back…"

"You wish me to be the Potions Master here again? Well, seeing as I am indebted to you for not allowing me to die on the stairs, I will. Could you tell me what has happened to Spinners End and all of my possessions?


	3. A Message

Random fact: Wake Up Dead is the name of a song by my favorite band. When an opportunity presented itself in the previous chapter, I could not resist the temptation to use it.

The first day of term had gone smoothly. He had given his first year's speech like he used to. The first years looked at him with more awe and fear than ever before. He could see that every single one of them believed him when he said he could teach then to "put a stopper in death." He held their attention like never before, and he had been very pleased.

Some of the older students were not as pleased to see him alive and teaching. These students remembered him from before his supposed death and the Battle for Hogwarts. They remembered him as Headmaster, and all the horrible things he allowed to happen while he held that position. What these students did not know was that he had allowed these things to occur only to keep the students from enduring far worse. Many of these students still held a grudge against him for killing their beloved Dumbledore, and no matter what Harry Potter said, he just could not be forgiven.

The Slytherins, however, had remained loyal as ever. They had mourned his death and rejoiced his return. At this very moment, while Severus was in his room, his faithful Slytherins were holding a party in the Common room. Much as he knew he should quell the party, he could not bring himself to do so. He had even considered accepting the many invitations to join in. However, he knew it would not be a good idea.

So instead of rejoicing his own life, he bathed and relaxed in his chambers. He now stood in front of the full length mirror, examining himself. He realized that he looked younger than he had before his death. At 41, he looked more like 31. He had always looked slightly younger than his true age, but never by this much, and he had not looked this young for about 7 years. Had the daemon spell somehow reversed his aging? As he thought about the daemon child, the room seemed to become shadowed. He suddenly saw that child materialize next to him. He still could not make out any of her features, it was as if she was purposefully obscuring his view to prevent him from telling what she looked like. She had her wings curled up behind her, and he later wondered how such large wings could be curled up into something so small.

In his shock, he looked down at his side, and the daemon was not there. He looked back to the mirror, and she was still there. She laughed at his expense. Wrote something on the far wall behind them in silver, and disappeared as quickly as she had come. The shadows lifted and Severus attempted to read what had been written on the wall, but discovered it was backwards. He looked back to the wall behind him, not expecting to see the words, and was astonished to discover that the words truly were there. He walked over to them and read them.

_I will always be here. Like a guardian angel, I will look out for you._

"Like a guardian angel? Ironic. How could a daemon compare to an angel?" Severus asked of the empty air where the child had stood. Getting not answer, he looked back at the wall, wondering how to get rid of the message, fearing it would be permanent. The words shifted to form the message _Remember._ and then shimmered out of existence.

Feeling suddenly weary, Severus prepared for bed, regretting that he would never sleep in the bed at his Spinners End, for someone had burned his home down after he had been declared a hero.


	4. The Sorting Ceremony, Part One

Random Fact: Severus sincerely regrets missing the party mentioned earlier…it was a great one.

16 years later

Severus sat in his chair, surveying the line of first years anticipating sorting. The newest Potter was in line, as was the Weasley/Granger child. The Malfoy was already sitting at the Slytherin table, as expected. Minerva, though Headmistress, still maintained several of her duties from the time 22 years ago, when Albus was still Headmaster and she was simply a Professor of Transfiguration. Minerva still taught Transfiguration, and she stilled called the first years to be sorted. If Minerva ever became unable to sort the students, she delegated Severus to that "honor." He had been quite worried, due to the fact that Minerva had been away for nearly a week. No one knew where she had gone. She had finally returned, just before the students.

She had brought a student back with her. This student was to be sorted last. No one else had seen the student, and Minerva had not given any information on this student. The other students knew nothing about this, and the professors all waited for the last student to be sorted, so they would know who he or she might be and why everything about him or her was kept secret.


	5. The Sorting Ceremony, Part Two

There were few students left now. Only ten and it seemed as if Minerva could not go any slower. The anticipation of the Professors was mounting, and even the students were now aware that something was going to happen soon.

Now seven students. Severus scanned the remaining students. Only one student really stood out to him, and had since he first saw her. This student seemed slightly older than the other first years. She was not particularly taller, just more…aged, developed, intelligent looking. He was certain she was the student Minerva had brought.

Three students. She was still in line, waiting. She seemed oddly familiar for some reason. He just could not place his finger on it, but he felt as if he had met her somewhere before. The last boy was sorted and there she stood, all alone.

"Raithe Shadulro." Minerva called the girl forward. "Before this girl is sorted, I must inform everyone of something. Miss Shadulro is not a first year. She is a third year and comes to us from another school." And with that Minerva plopped the Sorting Hat onto the child's head. It deliberated for a moment, then yelled out "Slytherin!"

Severus felt the envious stares of the other professors and he knew he was grinning. He had the prize.


	6. Raithe Shadulro

The Sorting Ceremony was over and the feast had begun. Severus picked at his food as he viewed the crowd of students old and new gorging themselves on everything in front of them. His eyes kept coming back to Raithe Shadulro. He tried to keep from looking at her, but every few minutes or so he would discover himself studying her. Unlike all the new students, she did not seem impressed by the array of food in front of her, and she did not pile her plate high with food she would never be able to stuff down her gullet like the others. She ate delicately and gracefully. She ignored both the baleful glares of the females and the excessive attention the males gave her. And he everyone could see why all the guys were trying so hard to get her attention. Attractive would not do her justice. She was stunning gorgeous. Her hair hung down to her lower back and flowed down in thing waves. Her hair was looked almost silver from the angle he was viewing her from, with thin streaks of purple and blood red. He knew this could be right. Perhaps it was the lighting. After all, who had silver hair? _It must be a light blonde color…_he thought. He had not had a chance to see what color her eyes were, but knew that he would get a chance soon enough. He had, however, had a chance to see her body. Her body was a big factor in why all the boys were vying for her attention. He really hoped all the guys trying to talk to her had worn pants under their robes, or there was definitely going to be some visible tents on the way up to the dormitories…

He had finally managed to stop thinking about Miss Shadulro by staring down at the pitiful remains of food on his plate when he felt eyes on him. He looked up and saw Miss Shadulro look quickly away blushing, like she was embarrassed to have almost been caught looking at him. He looked back down at his plate and it happened again. He looked up again and she looked away again. He looked back down at his plate for a final time and decided to ignore it. _If she wants to stare, let her. I have the body a man in his late twenties, so I'm sure the view is nice._ He though, then he thought, _dear God, I am a Professor! I should not think the vulgar things I have about her! She is a student!_

Thankfully, the feast ended soon after and he was able to hurry down to his chambers without running into Miss Shadulro, though he certainly wished he had. _But what would I have done if I had run into her?_ He had almost made it to his chambers when he stopped dead in his tracks. She was standing in front of his door waiting on him. Minerva walked out from the shadows next to her, and he realized that he had been so focused on Miss Shadulro that he had not even seen Minerva standing there.

"Well Severus, what are you waiting for? Would you come over here so we can talk without yelling down the hallway? Better yet, why don't you let us into your office so we can talk in privacy?" Minerva sounded a bit irritated. Had she noticed him looking at Miss Shadulro? He quickly walked the rest of the distance to his door, unlocked it, and allowed the two women to enter before walking in and shutting the door. He sat himself behind his desk while the Miss Shadulro and Minerva made themselves comfortable across from him.

"How can I help you ladies?"

"Let me start with introductions." Minerva said. "Severus, this is Raithe Shadulro. Raithe, this is Professor Severus Snape, the Potions Master, and Head of the Slytherin Household. Now that the introductions are over, we have come to the hard part of the conversation…"

"It is really not that hard, Headmaster. All you have to do is tell him the truth. Is the truth that hard to explain? First of all, Severus, I do not come here from another school. In fact, I am not entirely certain how I came to the attention of the Headmaster. The first thing I remember is—"

"Enough Miss Shadulro! I will explain to Professor Snape. Your input is only required when it is asked for. Is that understood?"

"My input seemed necessary Headmaster, for you did not seem to know how to explain the truth. Moreover, this is something that involves me; therefore, I would believe that would make my input very valuable to this conversation."

"I can explain to Professor Snape well enough without your help Miss Shadulro, now be silent." Minerva turned from the girl and focused her attention on Severus. "As Miss Shadulro has just said, she does not come to Hogwarts from another school. I was alerted to her presence and went in search for her. I found her wandering the streets of Tokyo in the pouring rain, her clothes in rags. I thought at first that I was mistaken. The streets were very busy, even though it was nearly midnight, and I easily could have gotten confused. Then two things made me realize that no mistake had been made. The first was that she was not Asian like everyone around her. The second was that only I could see her. I approached her and she tried to flee, however I was quicker and caught her with an immobilizing spell. The spell wore off much quicker than expected, but I had calmed her down and she did not try to run again. I convinced her to travel here with me. Do you understand everything I have told you, Severus?"

"I do, all but one thing. Why is Miss Shadulro a Third Year instead of a First Year if she has not been through proper training?"

"Ah yes. Her age is the main reason. She is the same age as the Third Year students. However, though she may not have gone to a school of magic, she does seem to have received some form of training. I would like to request that you be the one to see that she is properly trained in anything she may have missed. Would you please take care of her tutoring, Severus?"

"I will on one condition. Miss Shadulro? Do you agree to allow me to help you with your studies and help to catch you up to the other students of your class?"

She locked eyes with Severus and he was so stunned by the color of her eyes that he barely heard he agree to the proposal. Her eyes were a clear purple. _It must be the lighting again. Her eyes are probably blue, not purple._

"Good. Now that everything has been sorted out, we will leave you to get some rest. One last thing Severus, keep the information you have received tonight to yourself. No one else needs to know the truth behind Miss Shadulro's arrival here." With that Minerva stood and began to lead Miss Shadulro out of his office. Ath the last moment Miss Shadulro stopped and turned around in front of the door.

"By the way, would you please refrain from calling me 'Miss Shadulro'? I much rather prefer Raithe. It is my first name after all." And without waiting for a response she turned and shut the door behind her.


End file.
